All the Duelists, including the Reversed Duelists, stopped what they were doing and immediately faced Yuya, surprised by this sudden demand. Why Moon Shadow specifically? What about his brother or Reed for that matter? At least the former had met the Cookpal Duelist before, so it would make sense on challenge him to a duel, but he chooses the same Duelist who OTK'd Aura? Why him?
"Uh… Yuya?" Double Iris asked. "Moon Shadow was the one who defeated Aura in one turn!"
"I know," Yuya said, not lowering his Duel Disk-bearing arm at Moon Shadow. "If I break him free from the Reverse, he might be a useful ally."
Moon Shadow let out a snicker before running up to Yuya. "Do you really think you can defeat me?" he asked. "I will crush you as fast as I crushed miss Aura Sentia!"
"No," Yuya said. "I don't think I can defeat you. I know I can defeat you and save you from the Void's grasp!"
Double Iris let out a huff. "Fine," he said, sounding half-sad and half-concerned. "I just hope you know what you're doing, Yuya." And with that, he went back into Yuya's deck in a flash of red light.
Leaving the area where the Duelists' brawl was taking place, it served as Yuya's signal to Moon Shadow to follow him. He removed his Joker monster from his Duel Disk and placed it back into his deck, causing the deck compartment to shuffle all the cards almost a second later. Right as his Duel Disk exited out of duel mode, Moon Shadow used his ninja speed to leave the battlefield and trail his opponent to find out where he was heading off to. They dashed through the rocky formations and elevations until Yuya stopped at a spot next to the lava river, leading the Reversed Ninjitsu Duelist to land feet first and stand back up. His shadowed face facing a face of determination. Marked and soulless versus eyes full of life, hope, and dreams.
"You do know what would happen if I were to defeat you, right?" Moon Shadow asked.
"I get Reversed and become part of the Void's army?" Yuya asked in response. "Yeah, I already know that. But I won't let that happen. I'll defeat you and free you from the Reverse!"
Moon Shadow let out a cold laugh. "We'll see about that."
The two activated their Duel Disks and their Life Points shot up to 4000. With the Action Field already set, the Action Cards scattered across the zone, and the Battle Royale almost finished, they shouted, "Let's duel!" Yuya was hoping he would make this effort count as he drew a card to suggest he will taking the first turn.
"I'll start things up by setting the Pendulum Scale using Performapal Trump Witch and Timegazer Magician!" Yuya announced. "I'm taking control of this duel starting now!"
He placed his Scale 4 Trump Witch and his Scale 8 Timegazer Magician on the opposite ends of his Duel Disk blade, causing the word "PENDULUM" to appear across the blade one letter at a time. Trump Witch and Timegazer Magician then soared above the ground and into the air in their respective pillars of light. Finally, a large replica of Yuya's pendant faded in between the two Pendulum monsters along with their respective Scale numbers 4 and 8 appearing directly below them.
"I'm allowed to summon monsters from Levels 5 and 7 all at the same time!" Yuya continued. "Swing far, pendulum! Carve the arc of victory! My monsters are ready…to SWING INTO ACTIOOOOOON! Turn up the heat, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
The Pendulum portal opened up and a trail of red light came soaring out of it and onto the field. Upon landing on the middle monster zone, the light dispersed to reveal an enthusiastic Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon who couldn't contain his excitement of what Yuya has in store, especially because he was anxiously dying to Dueltain alongside him.
"Whoa, easy there, Odd-Eyes!" Yuya said, briefly taken back by his dragon's excited roar. "I'll bring him out next."
"Your turn isn't over?" Moon Shadow questioned.
"Not yet," Yuya responded. "I might have brought out my main lead, but I haven't introduced his second-in-command. Now give a warm welcome to Performapal Hip Hippo!"
A glowing light flashed on a monster zone to Odd-Eyes' right and Hip Hippo leapt out of it and onto the field, also anticipating Yuya's plan. He was also looking forward to seeing what he can do; normally, he would generally use Timegazer and Stargazer Magicians to perform a Pendulum Summon, but he decided to spice things up by using Trump Witch instead of Stargazer Magician because of her Pendulum effect.
"Now I use Performapal Trump Witch's Pendulum ability!" Yuya declared. "Since I don't have Polymerization, she'll give a little hocus to Odd-Eyes and then lend a dash of pocus to Hip Hippo! Odd-Eyes and Hip Hippo, merge into one! Look to the skies and feast your eyes on Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
From within the darkness, a pair of golden yellow and green eyes and a fiery orange orb were seen glowing. The darkness faded away and a dragon coated in red and gold scales and dark blue fur was unveiled. His growl-like roars and his posture for his attack position made it clear that he was Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, a monster he hadn't used since his duel against Sylvio. Packing 3000 ATK and 2000 DEF, this Level 8 EARTH Dragon-Type Fusion monster requires one DARK monster and one Beast-Type monster to use as Fusion Materials. He also must either be Fusion Summoned or special summoned by tributing the given materials instead of using Polymerization—which is perfect thanks to Trump Witch's Pendulum effect—and cannot be special summoned by any other way. If he destroys a monster in battle, he can take the Beast-Type Fusion Material's original ATK and inflict it as damage to the opponent.
"Unfortunately, I'll have to end my turn from there," Yuya said. "But don't worry, cuz the show's just getting started!"
"How peculiar," Moon Shadow remarked as he drew a card. "Not even playing a single face down. Very well. I summon Twilight-Joke Ninja Kagen in defense mode!"
Twilight-Joke Ninja Kagen is a combination of Moon Shadow's Twilight Ninja Kagen and the standard Joker monsters. His usual cool color palette has been replaced with a white and red color scheme with the black rings outlined in a red light. His skills are similar to his incarnation's Pendulum effects but has it revolve around his Joker monsters instead of Ninja monsters.
"But I am not done," Moon Shadow continued. "Since I have a Joker monster, I can special summon another monster with a similar Level-Grade range. So I choose to summon Twilight Ninja Shingetsu!"
Twilight Ninja Shingetsu hopped out of the glowing luminescence and got into defense position next to Twilight-Joke Ninja Kagen, using two of his four arms to place his katanas behind him, getting on one knee, and crossing his other two arms in front of his chest. Yuya has never seen this ability before; well, he has seen effects where a monster can be special summoned if its Level is equal or less than the required level of said effect, but this effect involves Grades. What is a Grade? He knows they're not part of the rules to Duel Monsters, so why is it permitting it?
"Did you say 'Grade'?" Yuya asked.
"Joker monsters are a hybrid form between Duel Monsters and Units," Moon Shadow clarified. "They have Grades instead of Levels. But now is not the time for chatter. I use Twilight-Joke Ninja Kagen's ability to Loc- Huh?"
He sensed a pulse of energy just now, but it was not like anything he had ever felt before, yet…it felt familiar. It was evil, immeasurable, powerful, and is willing make others go against their will in order to satisfy its goal…and it was coming from a struggling Yuya. A dark red aura was coating his entire body, his red and green locks were floating up and down to the flow of the energy as if it was trying to cover and uncover his eyes, which were sealed shut to prevent this entity from taking over. Moon Shadow couldn't believe what was happening to Yuya. He had become a vessel… A vessel to the Void.
"It seems we have no need to continue the duel," Moon Shadow figured. "You are already-"
"No!" Yuya cried out. "I… I won't let the Void control me again! We're finishing this."
"Very well," Moon Shadow decided. "I use Twilight-Joke Ninja Kagen's ability to lock Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
Twilight-Joke Ninja Kagen leapt into the air and swiftly moved his arm to the right to eject two black rings as if he was tossing a few ninja stars. The rings encased Beast-Eyes and unleashed black bolts of electricity, causing him to roar; however, a few seconds later, Moon Shadow and Yuya realized he was roaring for a different reason. Usually, a Duel Monster would revert to its card form by being engulfed in a spherical white light, but that light was transferred to the rings instead, causing them to swallow themselves and Beast-Eyes. Just then, a burst of energy resulted in a big explosion that led the two Duelists to shield themselves. When the smoke cleared, they both saw Beast-Eyes was still on the field, standing in attack position and coated in a dark red aura with black electricity. How is that even possible? Was there more to Yuya and his monsters than meets the eye? Does Yuya even know why his monster remained unfazed?
"What is this?!" Moon Shadow asked. "Why is your dragon not Locked?!"
Yuya quickly realized why. "Glendios…" he muttered.
Moon Shadow recognized that name. He questioned if Yuya knew who Glenidos was, and sure enough, he does… Well, a little bit of him. All he knows is Omega Glenidos is the Void's ace Unit who takes control of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon everytime he is possessed by the alien demon. They're not sure where the Void and Glenidos came from, but they're trying their hardest to resist their manipulation and fight to keep their beliefs of bringing smiles to everyone alive, even if it means dueling every Reversed Duelist they come across to prevent the Void's goal from intervening them and from becoming a reality.
"So it seems I am unable to Lock your dragon," Moon Shadow said. "No matter. I activate the Continuous Spell Illusion Ninjitsu Art of Hazy Shuriken! Now whenever I add a card to my hand, I can discard one and deal you 300 points worth of damage!"
Given the fact that Beast-Eyes has 3000 ATK and his Kagen and Shingetsu only have 0 and 1500 respectively, this was all he could do for this turn. With that, it was now Yuya's turn, who was showing more determination and resistance against the Void's control thanks to Beast-Eyes. Since it just so happens to be a Fusion variant of his ace monster, there was still a part of his spirit lingering in his Fusion monster somewhere that cancelled out the Lock due to being the vessel of Glenidos. Not only that, but there was a high chance that this cancellation only worked if Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon is used as a material for a Fusion, Synchro, or an XYZ Summon, but what about a Pendulum Summon? He was going to figure that out soon enough because right now, he now has an advantage in this duel.
Yuya drew a card and checked his hand. "Before Beast-Eyes can attack, I think it's time I brought in some backup," he said. "So here comes some reinforcements! I Pendulum Summon Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Performapal Drummerilla, Stargazer Magician, and Xiangke Magician!"
Three trails of light darted out of the reopened Pendulum portal and onto the field: one dark blue, one light green, one white, and one red. The lights dispersed upon impact to uncover Performapal Drummerilla, Xiangke Magician, Stargazer Magician, and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. All of his monster zones were now completely filled up; of course, that was just the first part of why his curiosity was piqued. He glanced at Odd-Eyes, wondering if he'll end up getting Locked after getting Pendulum Summoned. Looks like this theory was put being put to the test after all.
"Now I activate Performapal Drummerilla's special ability!" Yuya continued. "During my Battle Phase, he gives 600 additional attack points to Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Drum up a beat, Drummerilla!"
Drummerilla banged his drumstick arms against his chest rhythmically, pulsing out soundwaves aimed towards Odd-Eyes. The dragon roared in response to the exposure of the soundwaves as his ATK rose up to 3100.
"Alright, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon," Yuya said. "Attack Twilight-Joke Ninja Ninja Kagen! Spiral Flame Strike-"
"Not so fast!" Moon Shadow interrupted. "The Action Spell Evasion will stop your attack!"
The light green and magenta orbs on Odd-Eyes' wings shone brightly with the light blue orb on top of his head reacting by showing the Spiral Flame Strike building up. Odd-Eyes opened his mouth with a ball of the flaming energy all charged up and fired it towards Twilight-Joke Ninja Kagen. However, the effects of Evasion made the Joker monster jump out of the attack's direction and returned to its monster zone unharmed. Yuya gasped at the quick thinking Moon Shadow did to perform this retaliation. His Ninja deck normally revolves around defensive tactics while slowly dealing damage, making his playstyle extensively useful for Action Cards, which he managed to get one with his incredible speed. No wonder he easily defeated Aura in one turn.
"No problem," Yuya said. "I still got four more monsters. Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack with Blazing Spiral Storm!"
He jumped on top of Beast-Eyes before the attack began and his selected monster leapt into the air. As he ascended into the sky, he began to charge up his attack in his mouth before firing out a flaming dragon head that was heading towards Twilight-Joke Ninja Kagen-
"Not so fast!" Moon Shadow exclaimed. "The Action Spell Lava Shield will force you to end your Battle Phase!"
Lava Shield is an Action Spell that has the exact same effect as Blinding Blizzard but with an altered name and image to fit with the Volcano Zone. The Blazing Spiral Storm dissipated right before it could hit Kagen and Beast-Eyes hovered down to his monster zone, much to Yuya's frustration. Just when he thinks he has the upper hand, Moon Shadow almost immediately turns it around and puts him at a disadvantage…and he thought Iggy's brutality was challenging enough. He looked at the cards in his hand and then back at Odd-Eyes, wondering if the next turn will decide if his ace himself is immune to getting Locked much like his beastly Fusion counterpart.
"Now to end this duel once and for all!" Moon Shadow declared as he drew a card. "By tributing Twilight-Joke Ninja Kagen and Twilight Ninja Shingetsu, I summon Twilight-Joke Ninja Jogen!"
As his two monsters are sent to the Graveyard, Moon Shadow discarded a card from his hand to lower Yuya's Life Points to 3700 since he drew a card according to the effects of Illusion Ninjitsu Art of Hazy Shuriken. Kagen got coated in a dark red aura whereas Shingetsu surrounded himself in a light blue aura. They ricochet above the field before making a nosedive to an open portal to the Graveyard where they dived right into. Once the portal closed, the selected monster zone for his monster exploded with smoke spreading across Moon Shadow's side of the field. A few seconds later, the smoke settled to reveal Twilight-Joke Ninja Jogen. It was practically a spitting image of Twilight-Joke Ninja Kagen in terms of the Joker monster palette and design but had a few features that resembled the original Jogen. Much like Kagen, Jogen's skills are similar to his incarnation's effects; however, it involves Joker monsters dealing piercing damage to his opponent if he attacks a defense position monster.
"And because I summoned Twilight-Joke Ninja Jogen using two tributes, two of your monsters are Locked," Moon Shadow continued. "Begone, Stargazer Magician and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
Just like Kagen, Jogen jumped up with two black rings in each hand and threw them at Odd-Eyes and Stargazer Magician like ninja stars. Before anyone knew it, both monsters found themselves encaged by the two pairs of rings that shocked them with the black electric bolts and swallowed by the white light. Stargazer Magician reverted back to his card form before becoming trapped in a black electric sphere with two glowing red rings on the field, with his actual card in face down defense position. As for Odd-Eyes, he underwent the same reaction as Beast-Eyes; the white light absorbed the rings and the roaring dragon that led to a smoke-filled explosion, revealing said dragon to be unharmed while coated with the same dark red aura and black electricity.
Yuya simply stood there as he watched all of it unfold. Although he slightly scowled at Jogen Locking Stargazer Magician, he was more than surprised when he saw Odd-Eyes not getting affected by Jogen's Lock ability. He was right about his theory a short while ago: his ace monster and his variations are immune to the Joker monsters Locks thanks to Glenidos… Well, he only has a couple variants, but who knows if he'll acquire more in the near future.
"Now to bring out my secret weapon," Moon Shadow said after recovering from his shock. "Thanks to Twilight-Joke Ninja Jogen, I am allowed to bring out my true secret weapon. I Joker Summon Twilight Ninja Getsuga - Reverse!"
Dark red streams of illuminating energy flowed out of the card, and right as Moon Shadow slammed it onto his Duel Disk, the blade lit up intensely as it prepared itself to project the Joker monster onto the field. Using Twilight-Joke Ninja Jogen as tribute, it teleported to the Graveyard by transforming into a gray cloud, with Twilight Ninja Getsuga - Reverse appearing from the cloud and striking a ninja pose.
Getsuga - Reverse's usual dark purple armored suit was now a dark grayish-blue with light gray and blood red linings. The yellow kneepads and crescent plates on his helmet became fair-skinned and spiky shaped with a silver color respectively. His tattered green cape and orange sash tied around his waist individually altered themselves into a cleaner light blue cape and green sash, complete with a long, loose magenta scarf. His piercing red eyes changed to a light purple; that may not sound menacing, but his reptilian-shaped helmet make up for it. Naturally, there is a red-glowing black halo on each wrist and ankle and a larger one behind him, but this one had alien text encrypted on it. His ATK and DEF are the same, but he has become a Grade 3 Joker monster with his effects now revolving around Locked monsters getting banished whenever he is switched to defense position.
"Now, I will use Twilight Ninja Getsuga - Reverse's Skill," Moon Shadow continued. "By switching him to defense mode, all Locked monsters are banished, never to return!"
Getsuga - Reverse got down on one knee and crossed his arms in front of his chest, indicating he was now in defense position. A layer of dark red light blanketed the Joker monster, which caused a beam to shoot out and envelop the Locked Stargazer Magician in the same colored light. Suddenly, it steadily absorbed the target whole, from the halos to the white luminescent sphere to the card; once it was all masked in dark red, the light rapidly shrunk in size before going out with a bang in a similar manner to a dying star bursting. Stargazer Magician was now banished from the field and has rendered him unable to use for the remainder of the duel, leaving Yuya rather frustrated.
"Now do you see your struggling is pointless?" Moon Shadow asked. "You cannot escape the Void's grasp! Embrace its power and join us!"
Yuya clutched his chest. "No…!" he cried out. "I… I won't lose to you!" With every ounce of strength he had, he drew a card. "I-I summon Performapal Silver Claw!"
Silver Claw pounced out of the glow from where his selected monster zone was and got into attack position. Normally, Yuya would use one of his Performapals' effects to Special summon her, but his field is full; not to mention his monsters' Levels are either too high or too low to tribute summon. Not that it matters because his monster is a Level 4 and the rules state at least one tribute is needed to summon a Level 5 or higher given the correct circumstances. He doubted he has a card in his deck or his hand that will allow him to make room on his field to special summon her, but what about an Action Card?
Using his acrobatic skills while maintaining his resistance against the Void, he bounced onto Odd-Eyes and told him to search around Volcano Zone for an Action Card. The latter growled in and nodded before taking off with Yuya's other monsters following him; Moon Shadow witnessed what he was doing, and believing that running away won't save him, he and Getsuga - Reverse trailed him through the Volcano Zone. Yuya and Odd-Eyes scanned the area by looking both ways as they scurried through the Action Field, but one glance over the Pendulum Pioneer's shoulder led to him left in shock as he saw his opponent chasing him. He had to hurry if he was ever going to continue his turn.
Odd-Eyes let out a small roar to tell his owner that he sees a card ledged into a crack of a tall rocky formation. Yuya spotted the location his dragon mentioned to him and stated he has to grab it before Moon Shadow does. Heeding to the command, he charged towards the target, making sure he leaves enough distance for Yuya to snag it. With the Duelist's right arm reached out, they zipped by the tall rock, where he managed to snatch it right out of the crack's grasp and analyzed it to see it was. His eyes lit up at what he grabbed; it was perfect! The card's effect was exactly what he was thinking of!
"I activate the Action Spell Monster Microwave!" Yuya announced. "This allows me to pull a switcharoo with my Performapals! So while Drummerilla has to bow out for now, give a warm welcome to the sweetheart of the show: Performapal Helpprincess!"
When Yuya removed Drummerilla's card from his Duel Disk, his tangible hologram vanished from the field, going from the top of his head down to his feet. His deck ejected Performapal Helpprincess' card so that he could special summon her; he grabbed it and placed it on the monster zone where Drummerilla once was, resulting in Helpprincess to materialize on the field; this time, she was being projected from her feet upwards to let Moon Shadow know she was now taking part of this duel for a good reason. She glanced over at Silver Claw to see if he was ready for the next stage of the show, and sure enough, he growled in agreement because they both know what Yuya has in store.
"Now I use Performapals Silver Claw and Helpprincess to build the Overlay Network!" Yuya continued. "Flames burning bright, reveal her majesty in all her glory! Bow before the lovely supreme queen of all dragons! I XYZ Summon Queen Dragun Djinn!"
Silver Claw and Helpprincess' physical appearances morphed into light blue and bold purple luminosities that ascended above the field and plummeted to the Overlay Network, which opened on the middle right monster zone next to Beast-Eyes. As Yuya recited the summoning chant, a column of fire spewed out and condensed itself into the mix of a woman's body and a dragon's. Armed with the strength of a dragon and her Flute of Summoning Dragon lyre and protected with gray and gold armor, her sharp red eyes shot open, her wings expanded, and the flames whooshed away to uncloak her claws. Once the XYZ Summon was complete, she turned around to face what was behind Yuya and stared down at Moon Shadow and Getsuga - Reverse.
"Do you really think that will stop me?" Moon Shadow asked. "I can still Lock and banish your monsters on my next turn. And even if you were to attack, I can still dodge. Face it, Yuya Sakaki. The Reverse has given me unimaginable power!"
"But I can still work around your strategy," Yuya said. "I activate the Spell card Duelist Alliance! It allows me to search for any Pendulum card from my deck and add it to my hand!"
The screen of his Duel Disk switched from the setup of the current duel to his deck formula, but it was filtered so that any card that has Pendulum in its name would show up. Yuya scrolled through the listed cards to see which one would be perfect before stopping at a Continuous Trap; he moved his head upward to examine his monsters on the field, including the Pendulum Zones that harbored Trump Witch and Timegazer Magician. He mustered up a smirk once he had a strategy formulated and clicked on the Continuous Trap, causing the deck to eject it in order for him to add it to his hand.
"Now I'll conclude my turn with a face down," Yuya said as he set the Continuous Trap he just drew.
"Stalling for the inevitable?" Moon Shadow asked. He drew a card. "Very well. I activate Illusion Ninjitsu Art of Hazy Shuriken!"
The holographic display of Illusion Ninjitsu Art of Hazy Shuriken flipped over so that the image was facing Yuya and pink ninja stars shot out and struck him, lowering his Life Points down to 3400. What was Moon Shadow planning? Whatever it is, he hoped his face-down card will give him a chance at victory.
"But that is not all," Moon Shadow continued. "I switch Twilight Ninja Getsuga - Reverse back to attack mode, use his special ability to Lock Queen Dragun Djinn and Xiangke Magician, then use his Skill to banish both of them!"
Getsuga - Reverse stood back up to his attack position, dashed up to the sky, and tossed out black halos in each hand aimed at Queen Dragun Djinn and Xiangke Magician. The rings snagged the two in its grasp, electrocuting them back to their card forms that were sealed away in the white spheres protected by them and the black electricity. Getsuga - Reverse then knelt back down to his defense position where the dark red light surrounded him and shot out towards Yuya's side of the field, but instead of aiming at one monster like it did with Stargazer Magician, it branched off into two trails of light that were heading towards the Locked Queen Dragun Djinn and Xiangke Magician. With both monsters now caught in the light, it began to envelop them whole before shrinking to the point where it wasn't visible to the human eye and burst in two catastrophic explosions that banished them from the field.
Yuya's field now only has Trump Witch, Timegazer Magician, and his two Pendulum Dragons, and out of the two, Odd-Eyes was the unhappiest because he was forced to watch his dragon queen get Locked and banished by Moon Shadow's Joker monster. He wanted to do something, but what? He suddenly remembered the face-down Yuya played and wondered if his owner was able to successfully reel their opponent into his counterstrategy.
"I see what you're trying to do," Yuya realized. "You're hoping to stall me long enough for your buddies to defeat everyone else."
"So what if I was?" Moon Shadow asked. "It is already too late for you."
"We'll see about that," Yuya said. With Moon Shadow's turn over, he was ready to draw for his next turn.
He placed his right index and right middle fingers on top of the deck, prepping himself to draw his next card. Whatever he gets will prove whether or not it will start his little gamble he conducted. As of right now, Trump Witch, Timegazer Magician, Odd-Eyes, and Beast-Eyes' effects and the cards in his hand may not be able to help him win this duel, which is why he needed some assistance from the card he will draw. He's hoping one of his Performapals would be the right one so that he could activate his face-down; hopefully, by switching one of his Pendulum monsters with his drawn monster, he might stand a chance. With a deep breath and his eyes closed, he removed the top card from his deck to signal the start of his turn and opened one to see which one he got. Both eyes shot open as a quiet yet audible gasp escaped his mouth. This monster may do the trick, and with that, it was time to put his plan into motion.
"I summon Performapal Seal Eel!" Yuya announced. "Then I activate the Continuous Trap Pendulum Switch, allowing him to pull a little switcharoo with Trump Witch!"
Seal Eel slithered out of the brief gleam and settled on his Monster Zone next to Odd-Eyes. Once Pendulum Switch was flipped upward, its radiance from being activated led Trump Witch and Seal Eel get encrusted by a sheet of light. They floated upwards to switch places, zipping past each other and landing on their new zones, with Seal Eel now in the Pendulum Zone and Trump Witch next to Yuya's ace. With that successful, he could now utilize his summoned Performapal to give him the advantage.
Moon Shadow, however, didn't look impressed. "What good is one measly eel?" he asked.
"Oh, this 'measly' eel is more powerful than you think," Yuya countered. "Thanks to his Pendulum ability, Performapal Seal Eel negates your Reverse monsters' abilities!"
"So?" Moon Shadow asked.
"Doesn't your Reversed Twilight Ninja need his Lock ability to activate his Skill?" Yuya asked in response.
Moon Shadow was about to point at Yuya as if he was going to make a retort to the question; why would he even try to negate Getsuga - Reverse's Lock ability? Doesn't he understand that all Joker monsters have that ability thanks to the Link Joker clan? In only a matter of seconds, his right arm slowly lowered down and it soon dawned on him as shown by his raised eyebrows and his widened soulless eyes. His signature card's effect relies on Locking monster! If Seal Eel's Pendulum effect negates the opposing monster's effects, then that means he won't Lock Yuya's Performapals. He won't banish them from the field. Will he not be able to defeat him?!
Seal Eel leaned his body back with his head not moving an inch due to his eyes glued onto Getsuga - Reverse and lunged forward, launching out a red luminescent "X" from his nose. The "X" floated through the air at a moderate pace before landing on top of the target's head; Getsuga - Reverse placed his right hand on his head near where the "X" marked itself as his body almost instantly felt faint. He could feel his skills gifted to him from the Reverse draining him from his body and there was nothing he could do to stop it…for now, at least.
While it is true that Seal Eel's Pendulum ability can negate the capabilities of a monster, this only lasts until the end of his turn. Additionally, it is said that the second part of his Pendulum effect allows Yuya to regain Life Points equal to the total damage he received from the same monster affected by Seal Eel during that same turn. The only drawback to this is he only endured damage from Illusion Ninjitsu Art of Hazy Shuriken during Moon Shadow's turns, but that is not the case. Yuya was fortunate enough to have another copy of Seal Eel that has all his capacities, but this one doesn't have the potential to let his master regain Life Points. A minor drawback, yes, but it definitely didn't majorly impacted Yuya's plan. In fact, it was only the beginning of his counterstrategy.
"Alright Moon Shadow, this is when things get serious," Yuya said. "Judging by your expression, I have a feeling you depend on your Reversed ninja to duel. But now that he's powerless, you're stuck."
Moon Shadow looked horrified. "This cannot be the end!" he exclaimed. "I must carry on the will of the Void!"
"Yeah, about that…" Yuya said. "My dragons say otherwise. Now I can finally end this duel and free you from the Void's grasp once and for all!"
With that said, he issued a triple attack with all three of his monsters on the field to finally initiate a flawless Battle Phase. First, he leapt on top of Beast-Eyes, who was about to try again with his Blazing Spiral Storm; his Fusion dragon lifted off from the ground and skyrocketed into the air, charging up his attack. He then launched out a fiery dragon head that was locked on Twilight Ninja Getsuga - Reverse. The intensity of Beast-Eyes attack was so strong, it resulted in Moon Shadow's Joker Monster getting destroyed from the field, lowering his Life Points from 4000 to 3000. Yuya then activated his dragon's special ability; because Perfomapal Hip Hippo is a Beast-Type monster that was to Fusion Summon Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, additional damage equal to the Beast-Type Fusion Material's ATK is dealt to Moon Shadow. Beast-Eyes encircled itself in a flaming sphere that spat out the same dragon head, but it was directed at the Reversed Ninja Duelist; upon impact, 800 damage was dealt to him since Hip Hippo's ATK is 800, so that amount was subtracted from his Life Points and was now at 2200.
Once the first attack was done, Yuya hopped onto Odd-Eyes to continue his Battle Phase, but his ace won't be making the next move just yet; instead, Performapal Trump Witch will get in on the action. She twirled her baton around before thrusting it upward; as a result, the skull started to charge up as the black clubs and spades and the red hearts and diamonds gathered towards it until it glowed light blue. She then sharply moved her baton downwards and aimed at Moon Shadow, where a beam of light blue with orange streaks shot out and struck him. Even though she took out only 100 Life Points from him, it was more than enough for Yuya to unleash his final attack.
He declared his third and show-stopping move of his Battle Phase with his Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, who ran a good distance towards Moon Shadow and sprang until it appeared he was as high up as the smoky clouds of Volcano Zone. A fireball was forming in his mouth, but when it fired out, it instantaneously became a magenta beam with a black energetic spiral, meaning this was his signature Spiral Flame Strike. As the attack charged towards Moon Shadow, Yuya activated his monster's effect to double the inflicted battle damage. The light green and magenta orbs on Odd-Eyes' wings shone brightly with the flames building up. The light blue orb on top of his head then reacted by showing the light green and pink energy and the flames gathering together to form one whole effect boost. Odd-Eyes opened its mouth with a ball of the flaming energy all charged up and ignited his Spiral Flame Strike with more strength to deal greater damage.
Moon Shadow's eyes could see the incoming attack, but the strong brightness from Odd-Eyes' effect made his visuals go white until they became black a moment later. The force from the impact sent him flying away from Yuya and his body crashed onto the ground, with his Life Points plummeting down to 0. A holographic screen showed up in midair to reveal that Yuya was the winner of this duel, but it was not over yet. With less than a minute left until the Battle Royale, a dark red aura emanated from his body and expulsed itself from his its former host. Moon Shadow let out agonizing groans as the Reverse was in the process of getting purged; he may have developed some impressive pain resistance during his time at Fūma Clan Duel School, but even he couldn't resist the throbs and irritations occurring. Fortunately, they only lasted for a few seconds and the Reverse dispersed into the air, fully expelled and no longer controlling Moon Shadow as shown by his markless face. The only question left is whether he'll join in the war against the Reverse or if he'll be transported to this Phoenix Resistance; he also did get that voicemail from this Aster Phoenix person on his Duel Disk when the Void was in control yesterday, so his struggling did let him hear the important glimpses of it.
"You're not sure if you'll join?" Yuya asked.
"It depends on what happens from here on out," Moon Shadow explained. "Perhaps something might happen that will-"
All of a sudden, a buzzer went off as the timer reached 24 hours, 0 minutes, and 0 seconds. All the Action Cards scattered across Quartet of Quandry and used by the participating and Reversed Duelists vanished from reality. The floors on all four Zones began glow white along with the edges coated in yellow holographic particles as it ascended upwards, converting the entire Action Field back into downtown Paradise City.
"Time's up! The Battle Royale is officially over!" Nico announced.
With the Action Field now gone, Yuya and Moon Shadow—who was now regaining his strength after reverting to normal—both found themselves near a highway with an exit attached to it. Was the Battle Royale over that fast? A lot had happened over the past 24 hours that it felt like it was less than the required time limit. Speaking of which, where are Yuto and the others? Were they alright? Did they ended up getting Reversed?
"Yuya!" Gong called out. "You alright?"
Yuya looked up to see the entire group of non-Reversed Duelists. "Yeah Gong, I'm fine," he answered. "What happened?"
"I'm not really sure," Sora admitted. "As soon as time ran out, all of the Reversed Duelists vanished in flashes of black and red light. We weren't able to free anyone."
Moon Shadow looked sad. "That means my brother is still one of them," he realized.
Yuya double-checked the group. "Wait, is this everyone?" he asked. "Where's Zuzu?!"
Dennis looked hesitant. "I'm so sorry," he finally said. "I did my best to protect her, but she was captured."
There was no words for Yuya to describe his reaction to the bad news. What does he mean by "captured"? Are there any other students or Obelisk Force soldiers from Duel Academy that still wished to carry out Leo's plans despite the bigger threat? Was she taken as hostage by the Reverse? What happened to her? Dennis wished to tell him the rest, but he didn't want to upset him any further, especially because he couldn't shake off the feeling that it was all his fault; it all happened so fast yet he still felt like he could have done something to prolong or prevent the unfortunate from happening to Zuzu.
"You've all dueled well."
The remaining Duelists all looked up. "Declan…" Yuya said.
"So it's true," Sylvio said. "This whole tournament was set up for us to become your Lancers."
"The lancers?" Gong asked. "Who're they?"
"I heard rumors that this Battle Royale was really a test," Sylvio explained. "A test to see who can cut it as a Lancer. And if the whole threat of the Reverse is any indication, it seems Declan really has changed his opposition."
"Lancer…?" Yuya repeated. Now he was more confused as to what was going on. Just when he thought he was dealing with the revelations of four dimensions existing in the same universe, he is trying to figure out the whole Reverse ordeal and then he hears a nutshell of what Declan has been planning with this so-called Lancer group. His emotions restricted him from saying any more words as his eyes were glued straight onto Declan, from his white sneakers that uncover his ankles to his casual attire consisting of black stud earrings, white capris, a long-sleeved navy blue shirt, and insanely long red scarf to his stoic spectacled face with his silver-gray simple haircut covering his eyebrows and his purple eyes staring back at Yuya through his red rectangular glasses. He knew whatever happens next, his soon-to-be member of the Lancers was going to experience what this new threat and their new mission have in store, especially for the latter…